[spectre] LED - Live Interactive Art Opening at Goatsilk. Friday, Nov. 21, 6-10 pm.

[kovats at intertwilight.net]

For those anywhere at the right time ... 

on 20.11.2003 13:20 Uhr, Goatsilkgallery at aol.com at 
Goatsilkgallery at aol.com wrote:


Dear All: 
  
Wherever you are in the world, Goatsilk invites you to a a live interactive 
art opening for the LED sign, a web project designed by Ian McGhie, 
Chris Scott, and Dave Voorhis from Manitoba, Canada.  The opening 
will take place on Friday, November 21 from 6-10 pm (Mountain 
Standard Time) at Goatsilk.  1909 Wyoming Street #5.  Missoula, 
Montana.  Those of you residing locally are invited to join the "physical" 
festivities, and those of you from far away are invited to "mentally" 
attend on-line at www.goatsilk.com <http://www.goatsilk.com/> .   
Whatever you write in  will appear instantly on the sign in the 
gallery--throughout the opening and at all times until February 15.  A 
web cam will automatically shoot a picture of your text message on the 
sign, and put it back on the web where we, you, and the public can 
view.  During the opening, the more  participants we have world wide 
the better, so tell your friends in far away places to log on and check it 
out.  This promises to be an exciting event that will test how many 
people can reach the LED sign, as well as how many people the LED 
sign can reach.  
  
                                              
The LED Sign is a thought depository. Every letter, word and word 
string is evidence of active transformation.  The LED Sign funnels 
anonymous thought through a tiny slice of cyberspace sandwiched 
between two connecting points: the screen/sign and the camera, both 
of which are directly connected to the internet. The air between the 
camera and the sign is charged by our knowledge of it as a kind of 
electronic leak-a cyber slip- that allows us to more easily comprehend 
how far thoughts, no matter how insignificant or inane, can travel via the 
internet. 
 
Similarly, we want to expand the reach of an art opening and exhibition. 
The experience of using and viewing the LED sign on-line offers a thrill 
equal, at least, tobeing able to watch the sign in person. By placing the 
sign in the context ofan art gallery, we hope to isolate some of its 
broader meaning beyond the generally humorous/profane phrases 
humans tend to post. The sign, as well as the internet itself, shows us 
something true about our comic-tragic "nature," which is one of the 
basic revelations of art. 
 
Art generates thoughts that have a magical power to change us; 
contemplating technology and its potential produces this same effect.  
As human expression travels digitally across the web, we glimpse the 
possibility for a digitalization of consciousness. As frightening to some 
as it is exciting to others, the structure and expansion of the web looks 
more and more organic each day; it seems no coincidence that it 
would become more entangled with the constant stream of thoughts 
that feed it.  This, in tandem with the growing tension between physical 
space and cyberspace, gives the concrete impression of an 
evolutionary direction. It's certainly possible-and in fact likely-- that
the 
currently less satisfying experience of the "virtual"; in cyberspace will 
become strong enough to fuse with, and eventually overtake, what we 
commonly accept as reality in our current mode of conscious 
existence. 
 
 While it is overtly entertaining to read the random messages left on the 
sign, the depthier effect of this art is generated by what computer code 
makes possible. The technological workings of the LEDsign -and the 
programming language that gives the sign life - in conjunction with the 
human thoughts it broadcasts, invites a deeper look at the 
relationships between spoken/written language and computer 
languages/codes.  Human language is easily read yet its meanings 
are, for the most part, sloppy and inadequate. Computer languages, by 
contrast, though incomprehensible to thecurrent human majority, are 
much more complete than their spoken predecessors.The meanings 
transmitted by computer languages present greater possibilities for 
reaching direct resolve with their intentions and effects. It is noteworthy 
that the ineffable languages of contemporary written poetry and visual 
art strive to operate in much the same way, yet their traditional forms 
and methods seem to be waning in their ability to create lasting impact.  
Realizing this, we should perhaps anticipate that the future of 
creativity--and art in general--lies within "the makings" of cyberspace, 
and at least partially--if not completely--in the elegant new languages of 
machines. 
 

-Goatsilk 
 



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